I am going to San Diego on business in early december, and I am thinking about playing Torrey Pines South. I just looked up the non-resident fees and it is $185 on a weekday. I am seriously considering it, but I thought I might get some input from someone who has actually played it before I reserve my tee time.

I have had the opportunity to play Torrey Pines a couple of times. The course is very nice and has some cool views of the Pacific. It has history from PGA and US Open tournaments. I found only a few of the holes truly memorable.

Play it once for the $185. You will then need to decide if it is worth shelling out $185 again. You might fall in love with the place. For me there are other courses out there I want to play and I would save the next $185 for another venue. I am glad, however, that I have played Torrey at least once.

People rave about Pebble Beach, and I've not played Pebble, but from the videos I've seen, I don't think it is any better than Torrey Pines, or Balboa Park, which I have played. I thought they were about as good as you can get.

I agree that if you're a fan of golf and have the opportunity to play a course with history, then go for it. My buddy has played Torrey-South a couple of times and commented that it was pretty hard (long course, thick shaggy rough). It's on my golf bucket list along with Pebble, but need to graduate from complete hacker to journeyman high handicapper before I shell out more than $100 for a round of golf.

I played there in the fall before the US Open. For some reason, I remember paying only ~$90. It may have been twilight. I did not have a tee-time, but as a single had no problem getting worked in quickly. It was nice, but I've played much nicer courses for $75-100. If you can afford it, do it for the history, atmosphere, etc.